Postal Reform Bill Markup Postponed

A postal reform bill that was supposed to be marked up today by the House Committee on Government Reform has been postponed indefinitely, according to congressional aides.

The bill was to include parts of two postal reform drafts, one sponsored by Rep. John McHugh, R-NY, and one sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA, the ranking Democrat on the committee.

Waxman's draft calls for a "Super Regulatory Agency" that would delegate most authority over postal matters to the Postal Rate Commission. McHugh's proposal would require the PRC to follow specific reform steps. It is not known which parts of both drafts would make it into the bill.

"We are close to a bipartisan agreement on a postal reform bill," said a staff member of the committee who did not want to be identified. "[There] are a few more details to nail down, and both sides agreed more time would be beneficial."

A spokeswoman for Waxman said that the bill has been postponed "because there are still issues to be resolved."

Neither person offered a date when the bill would be marked up.

Mailers Council executive director Bob McLean said that since the possibility of a postal reform bill this session is now in question, "the interest in a presidential commission goes way up."

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